The McGuire Translational Research Facility on the corner of 5th Ave. and Oak St. on the Twin Cities campus.

McGuire Translational Research Facility celebrates grand opening

Published on June 14, 2005

Tuberculosis, HIV, malaria, heart disease, Parkinson's disease,
and spinal cord injury are among the dozens of health care
challenges that researchers will study in the University of
Minnesota's new McGuire Translational Research Facility, which had
its official opening on Tuesday, June 14. Work in the McGuire
Building will be devoted to "translational" research, which bridges
the gap between basic science research and breakthrough therapies,
moving new discoveries from the lab to patient care more
quickly.

The building will house interdisciplinary researchers from the
Stem Cell Institute, the College of Pharmacy's Orphan Drug Center,
and the new Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology
Translational Research.

"The University has always had the research
talent, and now we have an innovative place for collaboration to
improve the health of the people of Minnesota and the world," says
Frank Cerra, senior vice president for health sciences at the
University of Minnesota.

"This is a state-of-the-art facility where great medical
breakthroughs will happen," says Frank Cerra, senior vice president
for health sciences at the University of Minnesota. "The University
has always had the research talent, and now we have an innovative
place for collaboration to improve the health of the people of
Minnesota and the world."

The 95,000 square feet McGuire building is connected to the
Lions Research Building, a facility dedicated to vision, hearing,
and neuroscience research. The building is named for William and
Nadine McGuire in recognition of the $10 million contribution from
the William W. and Nadine M. Family Foundation. The remainder of
the funding came the College of Pharmacy ($2.2 million) and the
State of Minnesota ($24.8 million).

"Nadine and I were advocates for this project because we believe
that the University of Minnesota must have the resources to achieve
and maintain a world-class medical research and teaching
competency, if our nation is to more effectively prevent and treat
diseases," says William McGuire, who is chairman and CEO of
UnitedHealth Group. "The challenges of fully realizing such a
competency are still ahead, but this facility is an important
building block in the process."